he joins us from that firm in boston. duncan, i take it you're a pessimist in regards to avoiding the fiscal cliff that we're going to go over? >> not really a pessimist. i think the fiscal cliff is going to be more of a fiscal slope, but there will be a tax element to it. i think because we're starting at such a low level of tax rates, we're very likely to have higher taxes either immediately with the expiration of the payroll tax and potentially on capital gains and dividends in 2013 and beyond. >> tom: how should invests approach that, invest on what tax rates may be next year? >> not really. but there are great costs to be avoided by lessening the tax drag on your investment. positioning your portfolio and making sure you're in sthooks can outperform in a rising interest rate environment-- which is another thing we're worried about-- longer term makes some sense. >> tom: so rising interest rate environment, possibly higher inflation, higher taxes. not exactly the most shiny of forecasts for investors. >> well, there i